Perry sworn statement for Justice Platana

[This is a text file of the 29 September 2004 sworn statement of Perry Dunlop to Justice Platana in response to an Order of Production (turn over everything you have) at the second and final sexual abuse trial of lawyer and Roman Catholic canon lawyer Jacques Leduc]

1. Since receiving the Order of Production, made by The Honourable Mr. Justice Plantana on September 13, 2004, in this matter, I would like to make the following statement for the record.

2. I have no new material pertaining to the sexual abuse charges against the accused in this matter. I never met any of the alleged victims; have never seen or read any of the statements of the alleged victims or had any peripheral contact, past or present, with any of them.

3. My only connection to this matter was that the mother of one of the alleged victims telephoned me at my home. She told me that her son had been assaulted by the accused. I advised her to contact Project Truth and retain a lawyer.

4. In the spring of 2000, prior to my relocation to British Columbia, I delivered all my materials to the Cornwall Police Service. To the best of my knowledge, these materials remain in the possession of the Cornwall Police Service.

5. The present materials being turned over under the Order of Production are copies of the materials already in the possession of the Cornwall Police Service and Project Truth or materials available in the public domain.

6. My concern and involvement from day one has been for the safety and protection of children in my community. My sworn duty as a police officer was to uphold the law.

7. When I accidentally found out about the initial victim’s statement involving a $32,000.00 pay-off, I took it to my supervisor, St. Sgt. Luc Brunet. The statement was hand written by the victim alleging sexual assault by Fr. Charles McDonald and a probation officer, Ken Seguin.

9. Staff Sgt. Luc Brunet ordered me to “back off” and further threatened me by saying that I had a wife and three children to worry about.

10. Knowing my sworn obligation under s. 72 of the Child and Family Service Act, I knew I had a legal duty to report any suspected child abuse to the Children’s Aid Society. I took the victim’s statement to the Children’s Aid Society.

11. No one in the Cornwall Police Service was ever investigated or charged for failing to report the suspected child abuse by the alleged perpetrators.

12. Neither Jacques Leduc, Bishop Laroque, Sean Adams nor senior Cornwall Police Management were ever charged with obstructing justice for devising or facilitating the $32,000.00 pay-off for the victim’s silence in lieu of an investigation for the alleged sexual assault.

13. For performing my sworn duty to protect children, I was charged with three counts under the Ontario Police Services Act. I was acquitted of those charges by a Board of Inquiry. The Cornwall Police appealed that decision. The decision of the Board of Inquiry was eventually upheld by the Ontario Court of Appeal.

14. The Ottawa Police and the Ontario Provincial Police were called in to investigate any wrongdoing by the Cornwall Police Service. No charges were laid.

15. Because of my stand against criminal activity within the Cornwall Police Service, victims started coming to me with their stories of sexual abuse. Many of the alleged perpetrators were in prominent and powerful positions.

16. After receiving numerous statements from victims, some of whom indicated they did not trust the Cornwall Police Service or the Ontario Provincial Police, I gave full disclosure of my material and hand delivered it to Chief Julian Fantino. Months later, I gave copies of the same material to the Attorney General, the Solicitor General’s office and the Ontario Civilian Commission on Policing.

17. Several months passed before Project Truth was initiated.

18. Project Truth said it left no stone unturned yet after seven suicides and 144 charges – no pedophiles have been convicted to date.

19. I have been treated as an adversary since my initial involvement and have received no help from any police agency. It has become abundantly clear to me that the past 11 years have been spent on a mission to “shoot the messenger”.

20. It seem that “whistle blowers” are more of a threat to the justice system than pedophiles and their protectors.

21. To date there have been over 100 cases settled in civil courts by victims. All of which were directly related to the Cornwall case. Many more will follow. The victims have not received justice in the Criminal Courts.

22. I have lost faith and trust in the investigators for Project Truth. I have no faith now in the senior management of the Cornwall Police Service.

23. The Ontario Provincial Police has obtained pornographic materials by way of a search warrant allowing them only to search for firearms. At a later date, their office was allegedly broken into and materials stolen. The Ontario Provincial Police subsequently destroyed potential evidence.

24. Over 10,000 citizens have petitioned the Ontario Legislature for a public inquiry into the corruption surrounding the Cornwall sexual abuse cases. The inquiry has been denied for years.

25. Queen’s Park refuses to release sensitive material, such as “Peter Sirrs” report because of the millions of dollars in damages that will surely follow release of this report.

26. The Ontario criminal justice system is sadly broken. Many victims who allege they have been sexually abused are treated with mistrust, suspicion by both the Crown Attorney and defense.

27. My wife and I live in continual fear for our lives and the safety of our children because of the stand I have taken to uphold and follow the law and to protect children against pedophiles and their supporters. We want to see justice prevail for the victims and hope restored or Canadians.

28. Our family has suffered a continuing nightmare. Our three children have lived the majority of their lives subjected to negative fallout because I followed the law to protect children. They lost their extended family, their right to privacy and safety. They have suffered emotionally, socially and financially and now live in continual fear of a system they no longer trust.

29. The Ontario Court of Appeal in their decision R. v. Leduc, made the following statements at page 24, paragraph 36:

“The Crown disclosure brief prepared by the police contained no reference to Dunlop; The evidence at the preliminary inquiry revealed no connection to Dunlop; and On the stay application, each complainant testified that he had had no contact with Dunlop.

30. At paragraph 137: “The finding of wilful non-disclosure cannot stand. I would set it aside and with it I would set aside the stay of proceedings.”

31. In asking the question: “Did the application judge err in granting a stay of proceedings?” The Appellant Court found at paragraph 138, “Because the application judge’s find of wilful non-disclosure cannot be supported, neither can his order for a stay. But I would go further. Even accepting the finding of wilful non-disclosure, the drastic remedy of a stay of proceedings cannot be justified.”

32. If justice does not prevail in this case, then Canada risks becoming a safe haven for pedophiles.